Connected ventilation system
Honeywell Customized Comfort
Products develops connected
ventilation system
Smart, connected products are being installed in
an increasing number of buildings and houses.
Honeywell Customized Comfort Products (HCCP)
is responding to this Internet of Things (IoT)
trend and has developed new functionalities for
heating and ventilation systems in partnership
with Altran. Altran’s IP based solutions have
enabled HCCP to focus sooner on its go-tomarket strategy.
As a leading producer of heating and ventilation
systems for houses, HCCP wanted to contribute
to these developments. Systems such as these are
generally brought to market via OEM partners. Twan
Smets, R&D Manager at HCCP, decided to take on
the challenge of innovating the already successful
offline ventilation systems. By connecting these
products to the internet, HCCP aims to strengthen
its position as market leader in the Benelux region
and to break into new markets in Europe.
New opportunities with IoT
IoT creates new functionalities for traditional
systems, such as heating and ventilation systems.
These functionalities allow consumers to see how
they are using the systems while at the same time
giving suppliers and service providers an insight
into consumer behaviour, breakdowns, service
reports and system use. In addition, IoT technology
makes the system extremely user-friendly, in terms
of simple installation or component replacement,
for example.
Internet-connected ventilation systems
HCCP wants to offer users the option of
communicating with their ventilation systems via
their smartphones and they also want to provide
users with an insight into the use and status of the
systems. Furthermore, HCCP wants to enable all
other interested parties to monitor the ventilation
systems for improvement and service/maintenance
purposes. HCCP set themselves the goal of
presenting connected functionality for the current
generation of ventilation systems to their OEM partners and
the market as quickly as possible. To achieve this goal Smets
needed to find a suitable partner.
HCCP chose Altran, worldwide leader in the field of
innovation and high-tech engineering consultancy. Altran
supports clients by creating and developing new products
and services. It was Altran’s solution for IoT and connectivity
that was the deciding factor for HCCP and the two companies
entered into partnership on the basis of co-creation. By
using Altran’s existing solutions on a licence basis, HCCP
was able to accelerate the process of bringing new products
to market.
The shared vision in terms of IoT and working practices
contributed largely to the success of the partnership.
Dominique de Wit, Solution Manager at Altran, explained:
“Every company and every requirement is different and so we
put a lot of energy into identifying the client’s requirements
or problems before starting to develop a product. We
apply the same principle to our partnership with HCCP and
we have been able to quickly customize and add value by
using existing components. For this project Altran not only
provided technological expertise for subsystem integration,
we also implemented solutions for mobile apps, cloud
storage and embedded software.”
Existing components
HCCP and Altran created an connected ventilation system in
less than six months. Altran supported the development of
the following innovations:
• Protected and encrypted communication on existing low
power hardware with the help of Altran’s picoTCP (TCP/IP
stack) in the form of a licence;
• Protected cloud storage for the collection of data and the
generation of reports with the help of Altran’s Internet of
Things Framework;
• Development of a back office system for administration
and data insight.
“Through these innovations we are able to offer new
functionalities that bring many benefits for both consumers
and stakeholders,” said De Wit. “These functionalities allow
consumers to use an app on their smartphones to operate
their ventilation systems and to request information, such
as the temperature, CO2 level and humidity. And because
the system gathers large amounts of data, stakeholders
have a better understanding of system use. For example,
by analysing the data they will be able to predict when a
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problem is likely to occur and therefore anticipate it.
This is also referred to as ‘predictive maintenance’.”
Using Altran’s Internet of Things Framework, which
links product data to the cloud and makes it available to
applications, the first version of protected cloud storage
was realized in less than two months. This approach
was supported through continuous integration software
factory, a way of developing software with continuous
controls and tests so that products can be launched
quickly and safely. The aim is to expand cloud storage to
at least 100,000 ventilation systems within three years.
HCCP’s OEM partners are able to offer this functionality
on the market under their own brand name. There is
a separate cloud storage area available for this which
can be fully personalized. Alongside this, Altran is also
developing multiple applications for a variety of fields
and various target groups, ranging from residents and
contractors to housing corporations.
Agile partnership
HCCP and Altran have worked in an Agile way. “By
working flexibly we were able to identify any problems
very early and by adjusting our working practices during
the process we managed to avoid any stumbling blocks,”
said Smets. “Alongside the connected ventilation system,
we also created a demo kit for OEM partners and this
has led to several partners showing interest in the new
systems. The first OEM partner is already offering the
new ventilation system on the market. This confirms
the success of the HCCP/Altran partnership. In addition,
we can see even more opportunities for linking our
internet-connected products to a smart grid network,”
said Smets.
Realized benefits
Reduction of time-to-market through Agile
way-of-working and deliver value quickly by
combining existing and custom made
building blocks
Development of new functionalities for
traditional systems and increase usability
Insight in order to optimize the system and
maintenance